


NullTale ~Origins~

by NullWalker



Series: NullTale [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Ebott city, Mt. Ebott (Undertale), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Undertale Saves and Resets, overworld, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-11-15 03:03:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20859170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullWalker/pseuds/NullWalker
Summary: Jade is used to disappointment. It's a boring constant in her life. But one day she meets a child, a strange child, but one that understands her better than any other. This child introduces her to their friends, the monsters of the underground, and for once everything goes right.But of course, could a happy ending come so easily? No. There always was a catch.





	1. Disappointments

I was in Ebott City when the barrier was broken. I, like everyone else around here, remember the day it happened. I would like to say it was a normal day, just like any other. That’s how most begin the story. Although, that wouldn’t be entirely true. The actual truth is that it had been a bad day from the start.

Over the years I had gotten used to rejection. But now, as an adult, I was trying to make a living in a world full of other people that saw me as _ just another human _. I was expendable, just a drone seeking distinction in an endless world of push and pull. A world where no one would notice if I were to simply disappear. Such a fact was crippling.

_ How do other people find this so easy? _ I asked myself as I sat alone in my room once again. I used an old laptop to key though jobsearch after jobsearch, applying for anything that was a remote possibility. I had been fired a week previous… Oh excuse me, “let go” as they had insisted. This was just one more thing on the growing pile of frustrations. I couldn’t seem to hold on to a decent job for more than a few months at a time, no matter how hard I tried to appease them. What was their excuse this time? Moving location? Cutting down on staff? Or is it just the fact that I’m not all bubbly and smiley like they expect all us young girls to be? By all means, I was never angry or cranky, I just was never excitable. Well, whatever their reasons this time for giving me the boot, I was out of luck. It was about time I found a new job anyways.

No matter what I did, I was getting nothing but rejection letters and silence every way I turned. Even places that that hired the most incompetent of people were brushing me aside. I didn't believe myself to be incompetent. I thought myself a hard worker, and a persistent one. I was reliant and trustworthy and…

What? The results on this page were starting to look awfully familiar. _ Didn’t I already apply for this one? Stupid website… I know I applied for this...um, yesterday…was it? _ I paused, my mind clouded with confusion. I had applied for a few of these yesterday, but yesterday was Sunday and I had spent the whole day away from home and computer. I couldn’t have applied for any jobs yesterday so why do I get the feeling I did? 

_ Wait, what day is it today? Isn’t it Tuesday? No, Monday. Of course it’s Monday. Sunday was yesterday, and… Something’s not adding up. This shouldn’t be so hard to remember! _I checked the calendar on my monitor. It’s Monday. I was used to being a tad forgetful, but this was just ridiculous.

“Why does it even matter?” I grumbled to myself as I leaned away from the computer. I rubbed my palms in my eyes, trying to calm my frustrations. “I could be the most trustworthy and hardworking person in the world, and they still wouldn’t accept me. And even if they do accept me they’d change their mind just a few months later… But _ why? _” I never believed the first answer that came to mind.

_ Well there’s obviously something wrong with you. Whatever it is, they can see it, and it is inexcusable. No one wants someone like you around. _

“No, there _ has _ to be somebody that will take me. There has to be something other than whether they _ like _me or not. Maybe there’s something I could be doing differently.”

_ Denying it won’t help. The sooner you accept the fact, the sooner you can find a real solution. You’re running out of time! _

“Ugh, I know.” I grumbled. I glanced at the sheets of paper next to my desk and felt my chest clench a little with anxiety. Ignoring the problem wasn’t going to solve it. Bills were coming due, and I could only last so long on savings. Everything was running low. Including my will to keep up the fight.

_ If you don’t find a solution within the next week you could very well end up homeless. Then any chance you _ ** _ did_ ** _ have would be gone. _

“Thanks for the worst case scenario. You’re just making me feel _ great _ about this!” Why does this always happen? How am I supposed to find a solution when I’m busy arguing with my own mind? No wonder I couldn’t keep my days straight with this kind of stress.

_It’s a realistic outcome and you know it. Unless you’re willing to go_**_ beg_** _for help. Maybe someone will take some pity on you._

“No!” I stood abruptly, causing the table I was sitting at to wobble. I growled and shook my head. “Stay calm,” I told myself. “It’s just the stress getting to you.” Maybe I need a change in tactic. And… and… I need some air. Maybe I’ll find an opportunity by walking around town again. 

I checked myself in the mirror for a moment before walking out the door. I didn’t want to look like I was homeless until absolutely necessary. I wanted to look presentable; that would increase my chances of someone hiring me. At least… that’s what I had always been told. At this point I was starting to question every piece of advice ever given to me.

I applied some light makeup to cover up my gloom and tied up my long brown hair so it wouldn’t get messed up while I was out. 

_ All this effort is for nothing you know. No one’s going to accept you no matter how you pretty yourself up. _ I could see my blue eyes in the mirror turn hard. _ No. Don’t let your dark side get to you. Keep a smile on and chin up. Something’s going to happen today, and I need to be ready for it! _ I made sure to give my reflection a real smile, though it just made me feel hollow. _ Fake it ‘till you make it. I can make it. _

“Well, I guess that’ll have to do for now,” I swung a small backpack over my shoulder and quickly made my exit. I needed to distract myself before my own mind turned against me again.

The day was bright and beautiful, making my smile a little more genuine. Birds twittered in the trees as I passed and the noonday sun was warm against my face. A cool breeze twisted about me as I exited the apartment, and I took a deep breath, savoring the fresh scents it carried. I turned towards downtown and started walking.

I passed gardens and shops and fancy business buildings on my way. I glanced through the window to a bakery smiling to myself as an excited little girl received a cupcake from the server. My smile fell only a second later. _ It would have been nice to work in a place like that. _ But unfortunately, it had been one of the many places to reject me. I kept walking, also ignoring the grumbling in my stomach. _ No snacks. I’m on a tight budget, remember? _

Downtown was where I hoped to find some opportunities. Maybe I could talk to people and maybe find some-

I felt a rush of air and I found myself sprawled on the sidewalk. _Ow..._ _Did I trip? This wouldn’t be the first time…_

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” Oh, it was a woman that had knocked me over, probably in her rush to get somewhere important.

“I’m alright,” I assured her. I caught a glance at her hands extending to help me up, but they stopped part way. She hesitated. Well, at least her face was apologetic… until our eyes met. Then it twisted into something like… Nervousness? Discomfort? I didn’t have time to find out. 

Before I could utter a word she had turned her back and continued on her way at a quick pace. _ Well thanks for helping me up. You’re so kind. _

_ You know, you can’t expect everyone to go out of their way for you. _Yeah, I knew it. But that didn’t mean I was less disappointed in humanity. I brushed myself off only to find that the fall had torn a small hole in my one good pair of pants. It wasn’t anywhere critical, but that didn’t help my disappointment. I had a job to do, and that was finding a job. Now I had to do it with stinging hands and a rip in my pants. Oh, and my backpack had cushioned my fall a little, but that meant that the resumes I had tucked inside were now crumpled and creased. My optimism wasn’t going to last long at this rate.

\---------

I spent all day wandering the city on my hunt and I didn’t head home until the sun had gotten low on the horizon. I had talked to who I could, but as per usual I was met with curt answers and looks of discomfort. _ I would be disappointed, but what else is new? _ I could only hope that the few places I had found and applied at would contact me.

I was tired, disappointed, and overall upset. _ Why? Why isn’t anything working for me? Am I not aggressive enough? Is that it? Or is it something about my face that turns people away? _

_ Smiling at people isn’t how you win them over. But you’re too stupid to figure out how to do anything more. So by all means, keep doing what you’re doing. I’m sure it will work eventually. _Aaaand right on time… my negative side was fairly predictable. Even though I had learned to ignore it, it was kind of hard when it started shouting insults. 

I trained my eyes on the way ahead of me. Beyond the street and buildings on either side was the glowing peak of Mt. Ebott in the distance. The setting sun had just started to turn the sky pink and gold and the mountain caught the colors upon its surface.

I stopped for a moment to appreciate the picturesque sight. _ How many people go about their lives, and forget to smell the roses they pass every day? _ Even though my life was far from perfect at the moment, at least I could still appreciate a beautiful view.

Something was wrong. My brow creased with concern. I felt peaceful a moment ago looking up at the mountain, so why am I suddenly… not? I wasn’t sure what was wrong, but my heart began to beat hard as the scene before me started to look painfully familiar, almost like a forgotten dream. I had seen that mountain hundreds of times during my life here, so why did I feel like I was seeing it for the first time?

The ground beneath my feet started to rumble. The rumble grew into a shake, just enough to make me feel unsteady. I desperately reached for a nearby light pole to anchor myself. Falling once today was enough. 

A blinding flash of light caught my eye, almost too quick to see where it came from. _ Mt. Ebott… something doesn’t feel right. _ The ground beneath me had stopped shaking, but something in my very core was still unsettled.

Car alarms from the surrounding city brought my attention back to where I stood. The deja-vu feeling was lingering, but it wasn’t nearly as intense. I could ignore it now. The sidewalks began to fill as people filed out of the nearby buildings in case there were more tremors. As interesting as it all was to observe, I still had to get home. I worried about the damage that might have occurred from the earthquake.

My cell phone rang about half an hour after the earthquake, and I had just walked in the door to my apartment. The second I answered I was greeted with the worried voice of my friend Rachel.

“Jade! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken,” I paused, realizing I had just made a joke. I grinned at the silence on the other end of the line. She had realized it too.

“Did you just…?” 

“Not intentionally,” I laughed. “Though maybe I should take some credit for that one.”

“Jade…” Rachel took on a scolding tone.

“In all seriousness though, it was weird. Right as the earthquake started, I saw a flash of light come from Mt.Ebott. Have you heard of anyone else seeing anything?” If anyone else had seen it, Rachel would be the one to know it. I had known her for long enough to know that she was the first to get word about anything going on in the community. And, judging by how long it had taken her to call me, she had already spoken to a number of people around town.

“A light from Ebott? I’ve heard nothing about a light, but I could check back with a few people. You might also want to check your newsfeed on your social sites, maybe someone outside my circle has posted something.”

“Alright, thanks for checking up on me,”

“Of course! I’ll keep in touch in case you need anything,” And she was gone.

_ She didn’t think to call you first. How insulting. Could you really call her a friend when you’re one of the last on her list? _

That thought was unreasonable. Indeed, I was probably one of the last people she had called but I was one of the many people she had in her life. I had been friends with Rachel since high school, but she was always difficult to hang out with. She had hobbies and clubs and other friends… Things had gotten even busier since she’d gotten married. I expected nothing more.

When the earthquake hit she probably would’ve called her husband first, then her parents and relatives in the area, then her coworkers… The list goes on. As far as friends went, it wasn’t too bad. At least I had a friend! I knew what it was like to be completely alone, so I wasn’t complaining.

I glanced around my apartment feeling more worn out than I should’ve. Things were a little out of place and a plant had been knocked over, but no major damage had been done. I was tired, emotionally, mentally, and physically. I didn’t want to deal with this mess. But regardless of how I felt, I had more work to do.

Firstly, I cleaned up the fallen plant and made sure everything else was somewhat orderly. When I was done I heated up some leftovers from the other day for dinner. I parked myself back in front of my laptop and did as Rachel had suggested: Check my newsfeed. I felt a weight upon me that pushed me to find answers. Something about today was important. _ Crazy important. _ And that feeling in my gut said that I had witnessed something extraordinary.

As I searched for answers, I found that no one else had reported seeing a light from the mountain. However, something much more intriguing had arisen.

A child had been found on Mt. Ebott. And they weren’t alone.


	2. Oddities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chance. And... a child? How odd.

“You know Jade, I wouldn’t have believed it.” Rachel was insistent on calling me early the next morning to discuss the strange events. “I mean, we all read that one book when we were little about Mt. Ebott, but who knew there were actually monsters living under the mountain! Now I want to find the guy that wrote that book and ask some serious questions.”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “You know that the legend the book is based on is like, centuries old right? And even the guy who wrote the book has been dead for about eighty years or so.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it have been cool if the guy who wrote it could have seen this! Just wow! Speaking of which, how are things over there? Have you gotten to see any of them yet?”

“The monsters? I think I saw one from afar, but I couldn’t be sure. A lot of them wear human clothes so it can be kinda hard to tell. Most of them aren’t allowed in the city right now anyways.”

“What about you? Do you feel safe? If you feel threatened or anything you know you can come here and crash on the couch for a bit…”

“Threatened? I thought they were supposed to be peaceful.”

“Well, when they talked to the kid that’s what they said. But it’s just a kid, so we don’t know how true that is. They must be called ‘monsters’ for a reason. You know how the legends depicted them.”

“I don’t think you can trust the legends, they’ve had a long time to be twisted and distorted so they’re no longer accurate.” Rachel was certain that the monsters meant danger, but I was having a hard time picking a side. Personally, I liked to be cautious. Especially when there was so little information to go off of. However the information that we _ were _ getting was frequently contradicting itself, making me even more distrusting.

Some said that the monsters were dangerous, and they needed to stay away from human communities so no one would be harmed on either side. Other people said that they had proven themselves to be peaceful so far, and that they deserved a chance.

I was concerned about the repercussions of either side. If the monsters were kept away from mankind, they would never be given the chance to adapt to our ways. However, both sides would be safe from any violent conflict that might occur from the tension that had already arisen overnight. On the other hand, letting them freely into society could cause chaos on its own. Even if they were friendly, their ways have been separated from ours for too many years to count. There are bound to be major differences in etiquette and customs, and if there are any conflicts… Well, then innocent people or monsters could end up fighting anyways.

“You may be right about the legends Jade, but I’m still wondering how you’re not nervous.” Rachel continued. “You know their camp is a few miles from your side of town right? I just want to make sure you’re safe in case things go sour.”

“I told you Rachel, I’m sure I’ll be fine. If it makes you happy, I’ll keep in contact and exercise extra caution. Is that good?”

Rachel sighed like I was a stubborn child, “Fine. I suppose you can take care of yourself. Just know that I worry about you.”

“Thanks Rachel. I’ll give you a call later today. I have some things that I need to do.”

“Of course! Talk later!”

I hung up and got a good look around the apartment. I had tidied up anything that needed it, and the place was sparsely furnished anyways.

_ One less day to find work. _ The pressure was on. Rachel didn’t know about my situation because I hadn’t bothered to tell her. She worries enough about me, I don’t need to add to her stress pile as well as mine. _ I hate making people worry. _

I stood up to get my laptop from my room. But I only got halfway before stopping. I stood in silence for a minute. That weird deja-vu feeling was back; the same that had hit me yesterday before the quake. _ What is it this time? Do I have some sort of sixth sense or something? _

The door. I turned around and I went to the door of my apartment. I tuned the handle to open it right as a resounding knock made me jump. I opened it to reveal Jen, one of the apartment managers, standing there, a little surprised herself.

“Wow, that was fast.” She chuckled.

“Hey Jen, what’s up?” I kindly greeted her, trying to hide the fact that I too was surprised.

“Well I just came to check up on the tenants with the recent quake and other… local developments. Have you heard the news?”

“Yeah, I saw it. Pretty unusual if you ask me. But I guess we’ll have to see how things turn out.”

“Yes indeed.” Jen nodded. “I just wanted to let you know that we had a building inspector visit and he gave us the all clear. No damage was done so you don’t have to worry about the place falling down after that quake.”

I nodded, “That’s good, I guess.”

“And the city and government officials wanted to remind everyone that with the monsters staying so close by we need to exercise a little caution.”

“Hey Jen,” I jumped in. “Do you think we’re safe with them so close?”

“Well,” Her face fell a little. “The city has set up precautions to keep everyone safe, and we’ll be informed of any immediate danger. So far there’s been nothing to worry about. Just stay alert, and try not to go anywhere alone.” She paused again watching me carefully. “I’m sure you won’t do anything stupid. Just keep a good head on your shoulders and I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”

“Alright, thanks Jen. Is there anything else?”

“Nope, just stay safe is all we’ve got to offer for now. You have a good day Jade.”

I closed the door, but stayed standing where I was.

Jen didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but this sixth sense thing? This couldn’t be a coincidence. Both times that it happened I hadn’t been doing anything unusual and both times it had alerted me to something that was going to happen. I would have to look into this phenomenon a little more.

My phone pinged with a message alert. I glanced at it, then looked closer. One of the places I had applied to yesterday was asking for an interview, today! I hastily messaged them back, containing my excitement with a bit of difficulty. I didn’t want to overreact.

_ It’s just an interview. That doesn’t mean your troubles are over. It’s unlikely that they’ll hire you. _ Indeed, my troubles weren’t over. But this was a chance. A chance! I would not let this go to waste. They were willing to interview me later today. I had to get ready.

The hours ticked by painfully slow. But, eventually the time came due, and I walked out the door in my business casual, full of hope.

I noticed that the feeling of the people around town had changed. Everyone still went to and fro on their way to jobs and meetings and gatherings. People still sat in their usual seats in the cafes I passed and the sound of traffic echoed off the buildings. Everything still looked the same, but it felt completely different. Everyone was tense and nervous, and if they weren’t then they noticed everyone else feeling it. People feigned causal walk and talk, but all too many looked ready to flee at the slightest disturbance to the delicate peace. I wasn’t nervous before, but feeling it radiate off everyone else was starting to get to me.

_ Don’t breathe too loud, they might stampede. _ I chuckled a little at the odd idea. What a funny picture… 

_ That’s unusual. _ What? Where? _ At the corner of that Lacuna-whatever clothing shop, in the ally. Something moved. Something unusual. _

I turned my sharp eyes ahead and searched. There were people walking along, though they were fairly sparse. That wasn’t it. I spotted the ally, but I couldn’t see much more from here. Whatever it was that I had glimpsed didn’t seem to be there anymore.

_ Go check it out! _ Well, I wanted to go run off after mysterious somethings, but I had somewhere to be. I’ll check back when I’m done with the interview, the building is less than a block away. I had to fight myself to turn my back. I was curious, but it was probably just an alley cat or a beggar. I’ll come back later.

It shouldn’t have bugged me that much, but during my interview I had a hard time focusing on what was in front of me. In the end I don’t think it mattered. The interviewer seemed pretty apathetic about the whole thing anyways. Turns out they were only hiring because a few of their employees fled town for an undisclosed amount of time. I walked out of there not feeling very hopeful anymore, but I would have to wait and see.

Now I could get to the bottom of this. The interview had been less than ten minutes long, so the thing might still be where I spotted it. It was a nice day for a walk, so I decided to wander about.

At first I had no luck. I checked the alley but nothing was there but some garbage, old boxes, and a dumpster. Normal alley stuff. I continued walking. I checked a few other hiding places where something or someone might be slinking about, but I had no luck.

_ You should have checked when you first saw it. Now you’ll never know what it was. _ Inconsequential. I didn’t _ need _ to know. It was just something odd. I was curious. 

I turned around, deciding to head back home. I was wasting my time. At least it was a nice walk-

There it was again. This time I saw it clearly lurking about. It was back in the same alley that I had first seen it, on the other side and down the street a ways.

_ Human. I can see it now. Definitely human. _ Funny how considering it anything else was even an option. _ But what are they doing? _ Indeed. It was a human. But what caught my attention now was that it was a child. A child too young to be out wandering on their own.

_ Lost? _ Hard to say. _ They don’t have the appearance of being lost. They don’t look afraid or worried or anything of the sort. _They appeared watchful. Were they up to mischief? No. That wouldn’t excuse it. They still appeared too young to be alone.

As I pondered this small dilemma I pulled out my phone. I looked down at it pretending to text, but my attention was still alerted to the child in the alley across the street as I passed. They were hidden fairly well in the shadows. If it weren’t for my sharp eyes I don’t think I would have spotted them in the first place.

When I got out of their sight I crossed the street and carefully approached their hiding spot. If they were still there, then they would be just around the corner from me. In fact, as I stopped to listen, I could hear their faint breathing. They were unaware of my presence mere inches from where they hid.

I took a deep breath and turned the corner, “What’re you doing kid?” I wasn’t loud, but the child startled with a loud gasp and fell backwards onto a pile of trash bags. Oops. Didn’t mean to scare them _ that _badly. I quickly apologized.

“Sorry kid, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I offered my hand to help them up. They glanced at my hand then back at me, their facial expression changing too quickly to understand. Scared, relieved, angry, excited, uncertain… Now that I saw them up close… maybe they weren’t as young as I thought they were. Another oops.

“Come on kid, I’m trying to apologize. I’m not going to hurt you.” Their face hardened a little, then they smiled, grasping my hand so I could pull them up out of the garbage. There was a certain maturity in their expression. Originally I had thought them five or six years old, now I placed their age at about eight possibly nine.

“Are you okay?” I asked carefully. They nodded. Don’t talk much do they? “Um, I was just coming over to ask what you were up to. Kids don’t usually lurk in alleyways unless they're either in trouble, or up to trouble.” I eyed them carefully. They were still smiling at me, which was… odd? Normally a kid wouldn’t be so friendly with a stranger. Especially someone like me. I wasn’t used to anyone smiling at me for that long.

“Are you lost?” It happened from time to time. Today the streets weren’t very busy, but a child could still get separated from their parents. They shook their head. 

“Not lost? Are you up to trouble then? Mind you, if you are I don’t really care as long as nobody gets hurt.”

They snickered a little but shook their head again. Puzzling. Not lost, not up to trouble, and they didn’t seem to be _ in _ trouble. I took a second to glance out at what they could see from the alley. Across the street was a restaurant with tables set outside under an awning. I could see the tension underneath everyone’s cheerful facade, but the scene was nice enough.

“People watching?” I guessed, looking back at the kid. They nodded. “Nice. It can be an enjoyable pastime. I’ve done enough of it in my life to know.” They smiled and nodded again.

“So, where’s your family?” They shrugged turning their eyes back to the restaurant.

“Well, you look healthy enough, and your clothes look fairly new. Someone’s keeping you fed and clean. Aren’t they worried about you being gone?” The kid shook their head again, but I caught the glimmer of guilt that flashed through their eyes.

“Listen, I know exploring the city can be fun, but you shouldn’t make your family worry.” They shot me a look. _ Don’t lecture the kid, you’re trying to find a solution not make it worse. You don’t know why they’re here. Remember that. _ Okay, new plan?

“Well, do you at least know your way back home?” They nodded with confidence. Well at least there’s that.

“Okay then. I’ll leave you to it.” I stood up, nodding to them before going about my way. There wasn’t much more I could do here… what an odd kid. 

I was a few paces down the sidewalk when I heard pattering feet and a hand snagged the hem of my blouse. Sure enough, it was the kid. They seemed terribly excited, almost bursting with energy.

“What’s up?” They were doing a lot of motioning with their hands. I knew a bit of sign language, but this wasn’t making any sense. Were they even signing or just flailing about?

“Do you… want me to come with you?” They nodded grabbing my hand and tugging me along.

“Woa! Kid slow down, I’m not in my running shoes. If I’m coming along we’ll have to ease up on the pace, alright?” They nodded reluctantly, still tugging at me, but less insistently as we started walking.

We started going in the general direction of my home, but after a few decisive turns we ended up a few blocks off. 

“Where are we going?” I tried asking a few different times, but each time I was shushed and ushered forward. It was about four in the afternoon when we reached the end of the suburbs. And there in front of us was the forest. I decided to stop there.

“Woa, hold on kid,” I looked up at the trees that had once held nothing but joy for me. I loved forests and during my childhood I would go on beautiful hikes with my family. Now though, those woods meant something else.

“You know what’s in there right?” Their expression had remained excited the whole time, until now. Their expression fell a little, looking concerned and maybe uncertain, an expression I was more used to seeing. They watched me carefully as they slowly nodded affirmation. 

“Well if you know, then maybe you understand when I say... we’d better stay here. It’d be wrong to bother them, and I don’t know if we’d be… safe.” At this the kid paused, thinking for a moment. Apparently they came to a conclusion because they renewed their efforts, doing everything in their power to get me to follow.

“What is up with you?” My fear was strong enough for me to resist the kid’s pushing me about, and I was getting irritated. “Why is this so important?” I pulled my arm out of their grasp and they stopped for a moment to stare me down. The hard look in their eyes was somewhat familiar. Stubborn kid, why did I agree to follow you in the first place?

The world around me tilted a little as a dizzy spell hit. _ What the heck? What’s with this all of a sudden? _ When I looked back to the kid that deja-vu feeling was back, hitting me like a smack to the face. That’s when I knew that this kid wasn’t joking around. I suppose I could thank my sixth sense for that, if it was anything that could be relied on. _ This could go horribly, terribly wrong, but I’m going in anyways and nobody is stopping me now. _

_ Why? Because your sixth sense told you so? _Yes. Yes it had.

The kid sure knew their way around these woods. They traversed obstacles as if they weren’t even there. Meanwhile I got tripped up by every bush, root, or wet leaf we encountered on the way. I certainly wasn’t the most graceful nor stealthy being in these woods. I’m pretty sure the whole forest knew I was here by the time the kid slowed their pace.

I used to love hiking, but It has been a few years since that time. My breathing was heavy as I caught up to the kid.

“What’s the holdup?” I asked and they shushed me with a finger to their lips, a serious look on their face. They were focused on the forest ahead. I kept an eye out and listened carefully to the forest. 

Trees rustled in a slight breeze and birds chattered idly in the branches. I could hear the faint buzzing of insects flitting around in short bursts. But now that I listened carefully, there was a sound that didn’t fit in. It was the quick crunching of sticks and the rush of feet through undergrowth. Something was here with us, and it was approaching at a fast pace.

It surprised me when that something was a small white dog. It came out of nowhere, bowling into the kid’s chest and knocking them over. I was a little alarmed at first, but then I realized the kid was smiling and giggling a little as they ruffled the dog’s fur. I stood awkwardly for a moment as the kid gradually managed to get the dog off and stand back up again. The dog, now that it was done greeting the kid, turned to me with a gleam in its dark eyes. When a moment ago it had hardly been able to hold still, now it was frozen to the spot. I heard a faint growl and backed up a step.

The kid snapped their fingers and the dog looked back to them. They knelt down in front of the dog, holding its fluffy head in their hands. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and somehow seemed to come to an understanding. As soon as the dog was released it took off into the underbrush.

The kid was smiling again as they stood, now motioning me forward.

“Was that your dog?” They answered with a “sort of?” wave of their hand. Then they shrugged.

We walked for a while longer before I started to hear the sounds of life ahead. And it wasn’t forest life. We crested a small hill and everything came into view. We crouched down on some rocks set into the hill to observe the land below.

The monster camp was fairly large, with dozens of tents in neat rows (except for a few rebels here and there that chose to place their tents a little more creatively.) At the far end of the clearing was a _ massive _ tent with three, also large, extensions coming off of it. I suspected that would be some sort of mess hall and gathering center, or something of that sort. It reminded me of a plain circus tent, though I had never seen one in person. There was smoke rising up from multiple fires throughout the tent community around which many monsters moved about.

“Woa,” I couldn’t help but be impressed. How did they get all this set up overnight? Magic maybe? I heard someone on the news hypothesize that the monsters had some sort of magic system that helped sustain them. I wasn’t sure if I believed it or not, but I was starting to think anything could be possible.

The kid tapped on my shoulder. They had a mischievous gleam in their eyes.

“What now?” They pointed to themselves, then pointed to me. Where was this going? Then they pointed at the camp.

“I’m not sure I follow,” Not sure I _ wanted _ to follow. The kid rolled their eyes dramatically, standing to their full height and motioning me to follow them back down the hill. When I hesitated they waved me over.

“I sure hope you don’t mean what I think you do.” They nodded a reply as we wove our way closer to the camp. _ Oh great. If they’re really thinking of doing this… do I even need to count the ways this can go wrong? _


	3. Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade doesn't know what to expect anymore.

I was tempted to start counting the possibilities of failure as my mind produced them, and every bit of logic was thrown out the window. _ We could get attacked and killed... or captured and killed. Or eaten! What do the monsters even eat anyways? _ Every bit of info I could find concerning the monsters was either incomplete or contradictory. _ There were no answers to the real questions. I need to know! _

_ Stop. You’re just getting yourself worked up. You’ll self destruct if you don’t _ ** _focus_ **.

Right. Focus…That was always the answer. I took a deep breath and enclosed all the rampant emotion, sealing it within. It was there, deep inside, that it began to fizzle and I was left with a steady calm. Now I could be ready. If something goes wrong, I need to be-

The peal of steel against steel immediately set me on high alert. There was a flash of blue metal and I threw myself to the side to avoid being hit.

“Kid! Watch out!” I army-crawled into the bushes, hoping that I wasn’t seen. _ I thought monsters were supposed to be friendly! THIS IS NOT FRIENDLY! _ Unfortunately the kid didn’t take my warning and ran _ towards _the creature bearing a sword, waving their arms frantically.

“Hold it Sy! That’s the kid!”

“What? Oh! My deepest apologies! I thought you were a taller human a moment ago…” Two monsters? And what were they talking about? They knew the kid? I tried to get a peek through the bushes at the situation. Well at least the kid wasn’t killed right off. At the moment they were making very animated hand motions at two strange creatures clad in shiny armor. One of them still held out a sword (obviously the one that swung at me), but I couldn’t see any details of their black form. No face, no eyes, no nothing. They were a solid black, like they were absorbing every bit of light that touched them.

The other guard was crazy tall, probably twice my height, with long limbs and disproportionately short stubby legs. They weren’t attacking. They were talking to the kid.

“What do you mean there _ was _ another human?” The one called Sy was speaking. “So I didn’t almost hit you after all? Ha! I respectfully retract my apology. But…” He paused.

The other guard continued, “But if there was another human, where are they now?” His head placed high upon a long neck began to turn about, searching. The kid looked a tad confused as they too glanced around.

“No larger human in sight.” Murmured the tall one.

“See Longe? I _ told _ you I wasn’t the one with sight problems.” Ah, I think his name is Longe.

“You _ are _the one with sight problems. I can’t see them because they’re hiding or have run off. It’s not because I have bad eyesight.”

“I call excuses,” Sy quipped back.

While the guards argued amongst themselves, the kid continued to look about, determined it seemed, to find me. It took them a moment before they spotted me hiding like a coward in the bushes. They waved to me, and when I still refused to reveal myself, they came over to drag me out.

“What? Are you crazy?” I hissed quietly. “They just tried to kill me!” The kid shook their head insistently.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” The appearance of Longe’s head over the kid’s scared me into freezing up. I just sat there staring at it dumbly with my mouth wide open. What do I do? Do I run?

_ No running, they’ll catch you and kill you for sure. Maybe you should take this head-on so you don’t go out like a coward. _

I’m not a coward. I shut my mouth and summoned my courage. I’m not a coward. They seem fine with the kid, maybe they won’t kill me.

_ You really think you could take them on? _ Wrong question. That’s not what I’m trying to do. No fighting.

My legs shook as I stood. My neck was craned back, watching Longe very carefully.

“Oh, hello um… taller human?” He retreated back a step, much to my relief. Every bit of breathing room helps. I opened my mouth to speak, to say hello, to say _ something _ , but I was still too numb to speak. _ Great, first contact and you’re already making a grand fool of yourself. Congrats! Say, now that the monsters are here, I know a great cave you can hide in for the next hundred years to get over the embarrassment. _I knew I was never going to live down this moment. 

“You found them?” Sy came around Longe and leaned over the bushes, trying to get a good look at me. He leaned in… closer… closer… _ Too close! _ I slowly ducked away from his black mass, which I could swear was _ squinting _ . _ Personal space buddy! _ I felt the urge to strike out like a cornered cat, but I resisted. Something about this creature wasn’t threatening, it just... didn’t know about _ personal space _. 

_ Really? You consider it nonthreatening even after it swung a sword at you? _ Well, besides that…

“I suppose I should apologize to you, taller human.” I could barely see flickers of movement on what would be Sy’s face as he spoke. “I didn’t know you were a non-threat, so I hope you can accept my apology for the misunderstanding.”

I just nodded slightly, but it seemed good enough to satisfy him.

The kid decided to interfere again. They waved to get our attention, and Sy backed off. _ Thank you! _ I exhaled in relief. The kid was communicating something else.

“Of course! That would be no problem at all!” Longe turned and began to walk away. Sy obligingly followed. The kid grabbed my hand and began to pull me along behind them.

“We’re going to the camp?” I asked them quietly. They nodded, the grin starting to return. What were they so excited about anyways? I was just another human, why was I getting all this special treatment from them?

_ Just another human. _

There’s nothing special about me, so why…

_ Nothing special. _

No, something _ did _happen. I noticed something on Mt. Ebott when no one else did. That sets me apart. I noticed a kid with many others walked by, oblivious. And now here I am, in the forest, with the kid, about to enter the monster camp.

_ You know… did you ever pause to consider… _

Consider… There was something I missed. Some detail, something important…

I felt a tug on my hand. The kid was looking up at me, with question in their eyes.

The kid. _ Of course. _ I hadn’t recognized them with their trimmed hair, clean face, and new apparel. The kid. Frisk. The child from off the mountain. And they were leading me to meet their friends. _ The monsters. _

_ How did I end up here again? _

_ I need to reevaluate everything. _ So, hold on… Frisk?! The kid they found on the mountain with a ton of monsters in tow? The kid that was revered and despised all in the same breath, even though the world has known them for less than a day? _ This kid! _ I had talked to them, and they led me all over town, and they convinced me to go into the woods to meet the monsters. And I, like the wonderful naive idiot that I am, followed! All I know now… Is that I’m getting some pictures of this or no one is going to believe this insanity.

I felt another tug from the kid… No, Frisk. Now that I considered the idea seriously I could relate the child beside me to the disheveled child from the picture I’d seen last night. How were they up and about with so much energy? In the picture from _ last night _they had looked half-dead with exhaustion. But now they led the way, making me feel like the slow one, which I was.

I think they knew that I had just connected the pieces. They were still excited, but I could see that shadow of worry that overcast their face.

“I should've known,” I mumbled to myself. But I hadn’t known. I don’t know yet if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. I guess I’ll find out soon.

“So…” Why do I feel so awkward all of a sudden? “So, you’re Frisk, right?”

They gave me a very stern look, something that carried a maturity far beyond their years, and nodded once. It seemed they were gauging my reaction.

“Wow,” I had to think on it for a moment. It was taking some time for my mind to process all this.

“Yeah, the kid’s a hero!” Sy spoke up from a few paces ahead. Longe glanced back and nodded agreement. I thought it strange how Longe had taken up the lead, even though he had the shortest legs of all of us. He seemed to keep up a good pace despite the fact. _ What odd creatures. _

“Indeed, Frisk did us all a great favor by freeing us from our prison.” Longe spoke up. “Without them we could have been trapped for another few hundred years.”

I was about to ask for more details, but a hollow *thump* stopped me before I could. We all looked over to Sy.

“Watch out…” He somehow grumbled while sounding cheerful at the same time. “There’s a tree there.” And then he carefully, _ very carefully _, maneuvered around the single tree.

_ What odd creatures indeed! _

“We’re coming upon the camp,” Longe announced.

_ How’s this going to go? _ I felt my heart pick up with a little spike of anxiety. I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t know how to prepare. It made me feel a tad vulnerable, which in turn made me a little tense.

Frisk waved for my attention and gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back to hopefully settle their concerns. I appreciated the effort to cheer me up, but I still felt contentious inside.

_ The monsters know Frisk, but how many other humans have they met here? What will they think of you? Will they be surprised? Curious? Or will they be disappointed? As far as humans go, you know you’re not one of the best. These creatures may have expectations that you will have no choice but to disappoint. _ This was just making me more nervous by the second. _ What if you accidentally insult them? You don’t want to be responsible for any conflict or misunderstandings that may arise, right? _ I hadn’t considered the responsibility I may have to carry by agreeing to meet these creatures. _ You could make this all go wrong. _ I realized that I needed to get ahold of myself, again. I didn’t usually have to watch my emotions this closely. But this wasn’t the usual situation either. 

The trees ended abruptly as we entered the camp. I reacted instinctively, straightening my posture and lifting my chin with feigned confidence. My feet became more steady and decisive, but my eyes remained on the watch for anything and everything. I felt ready to flee and ready to fight all at once. My heart thumped nervously, and I focused my nervous energy into purpose.

“Hey! Frisk is back!” The moment we were spotted the cry went up. The camp began to buzz with activity like a beehive. Word spread fast around here. However, even when many monsters looked up from their tasks with interest, only a few actually came forward to greet us as we began to maneuver our way down the trampled pathways.

I became easily overwhelmed by the diversity of the monster shapes and personalities. Some were tall and others tiny. Some looked like beautiful creatures from legend and others were, quite frankly, a little disturbing to look upon. But regardless of who it was, they made sure to notice us.

“Frisk!”

“Welcome back.”

“Who’s the stranger?”

“Hey Frisk!”

“I think Toriel was looking for you earlier,”

“Good evening humans… Wait, who’s this?”

“Friiiiisk!” The loud shout drew my attention to a small yellow monster with no noticeable arms, but he had a tail and a very large grin. He was running at full speed towards us until he got tripped up by his own feet. I winced as the monster face-planted into the ground, sliding a little from his momentum. I thought to go over and help the poor thing up, but he was already standing back up. The little monster continued to run, no worse for wear, until he pulled up beside Frisk. I could now see that they were both about the same height.

“Yo! Frisk! We’ve been looking for you all over! We wanted to play a game of monsters and humans and it’s more fun when you’re there. But… you weren’t there. Where’d you run off to?” The monster kid fell quiet as Frisk responded with some hand movements.

“NO WAY!” The little monster kid suddenly shouted, making me jump with surprise. They both turned to look up at me. Frisk held an expression of mild concern, meanwhile the monster was looking at me with a sparkle in their eyes.

“You’re so coooool! Well, not as cool as this one monster I know, but you’re still pretty awesome!” My brow creased with confusion. What did Frisk tell them? My gut twisted a little with distrust. I trusted no one at first sight, the kid and these monsters were no exception. But now that I thought about it, I did trust Frisk to an extent. Even though I had met them only a few hours prior, there was something about them… Something that made me throw caution to the wind and trust on instinct. Perhaps it’s because I have an easier time warming up to kids rather than adults. I always kind of liked the blatant honesty kids tended to use. This monster kid seemed to be the same way. I liked that. It was familiar.

I heard a monster calling out from across the camp.

“Aw, I gotta go,” The monster kid sighed heavily. “My mom’s calling. See you later Frisk! And you too bigger human!” He ran off, tripping no more than twice before he was out of sight.

It took a bit longer for Sy and Longe to lead us through the busy camp. There must be nearly three hundred monsters camping here, though it was admittedly difficult to be sure. I just knew that there was a lot of energy here. The monsters were a lively bunch, each one to greet us was friendly yet unique. Some I recognized from photos and videos shown on the news and posted elsewhere online.

Eventually we ended up at the massive tent we had seen from the hill. It had taken a fair amount of time to work our way over. I was surprised and a little relieved that the monsters hadn’t reacted the way I thought they would. Most of them greeted us briefly, with perhaps a bit of curiosity, and others just went about their business. A few however, like the monster kid, approached us with wonder and awe. It was explained to me by Sy and Longe that most of them had never seen any humans besides Frisk, since only those of higher status had been in contact with Ebott city and other government officials.

“Captain!” Sy called out as we entered the sand colored tent. In the main tent a circle of benches and logs were set up in the center of the huge area, mimicking an amphitheater. However, I was surprised to see that a majority of the area was taken up by various boxes and parcels. I could only guess at their contents without a closer look.

I heard raised voices from our left, coming from a passage that led to one of the side tents. The voices were laced with worry. Darn it, I knew the kid was causing worry. I glanced at Frisk to see them cringing a little at the tones. I think they too realized the mistake.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Sy picked up the pace a little, with the feeling of urgency driving us all to follow suit. As we approached, the voices became clearer.

“What if the little punk got themselves captured!? Or worse, killed?” The loudest voice was a harsh snarl that cut through the air. However, it was interrupted by a deep, calming tone. It sounded like a voice of authority to me.

“We’ll find them Undyne. Frisk has shown themselves to be more than capable, and with our devoted efforts I’m sure we’ll find them soon.”

“It’s not enough! We’re spread too thin out here, and the territory is unfamiliar. That makes things difficult enough; but we can’t search too closely to the human settlement unless we want another war on our hands.” There was a growl of frustration. “What if they went into the city? Then we have no chance of finding them!”

“What are the current reports?” The deep voice asked, interrupting the rant.

“Nothing so far. Alphys says that she’s watching the cameras, but there are only a few posted around the camp and one at the entrance to the Underground. The queen and Papyrus went with the Resonance Unit to patrol the forest to the east. None of the patrols or sentries to the North or South have reported anything yet. We’re about to send out three more Units to search once they get here-”

“Captain!” Longe called out again, but this time he was heard over the din in the other room. I heard a frantic shuffling and the crash of something falling over as we exited the passage into the tent.

“Frisk!” Went up the general call of relief from all those gathered. I got a quick glance around the room and of all the monsters gathered there.

The interior was like a traditional command tent, though it was significantly bigger to accommodate some of the monsters’ size and height. There was a table in the center with papers and a map, and it was surrounded by chairs (one of which had been knocked over.) But as I took in the monsters surrounding the table I started to shy back a little into the doorway. Almost all of them were _ massive _ or at least super tall. Their gleaming armor made them all even more intimidating.

“There you are punk!” The one doing all the shouting was a tall blue monster with bright red hair and an eyepatch over her left eye. Also teeth. She had lots of teeth.

Frisk gave a nervous wave with a sheepish smile as all the monsters around the table stood to face us. I took another subtle step back so I was shielded a bit by Sy.

“Undyne, inform the search teams that Frisk has been found and returned.” The largest monster in the room was the one with the booming voice. He was covered in white fur, though he had a blond beard and long blond hair upon his head, much like a lion’s mane. He seemed terribly familiar to me. When I saw the glint of a crown upon his head, I remembered. The monsters were led by a king, and that king was standing less than a dozen feet from me.

Even though he was the largest and most intimidating monster present, the king bore a friendly -and very relieved- smile, which made him a little less frightening. 

Frisk seemed happy to see him too, running up to the king and giving him the greatest hug they could manage. That wasn’t much, seeing that their arms couldn’t even reach around his sides, but it was the intent that mattered.

My attention was drawn back to the blue monster, Undyne I think, as she started yelling again in a commanding tone.

“Longefell, Silhowatt! Report!” I was puzzled for a moment when Undyne didn’t call the Longe and Sy by the names I knew, but when they both snapped to attention I understood. _ Nicknames… not unexpected, but that still threw me off a little. _

Longe addressed the captain first. “Captain,we found Frisk on the edge of camp on the western side. It appears they were already headed back to camp when we encountered them. Frisk requested an escort, so we obliged.”

Undyne interrupted him, “That’s all good and well Longe, but could you please explain why you didn’t contact me the moment you laid eyes on Frisk?” She held up what looked like a smartphone, but it was much larger and it clearly wasn’t made by any of the traditional companies.

Sy continued when Longe hesitated to answer, “Well, we thought Frisk was a bigger human, but it was just a different human that they had brought with them. Frisk wanted us to walk them back, and then we started chatting a bit and I guess we forgot to send word.”

Undyne’s expression immediately hardened at the mention of me. I practically felt her spark with energy.

“Another human?”

“Yeah, a big one,” Sy continued, waving his arms to emphasize the point. I scowled a little from behind. _ Seriously? I’m not _ that _ big. In fact, I’m dwarfed by most of you monsters around here. _

“Where’s the other human now?” I froze. The other monsters in the room hadn't spotted me yet due to my attempt at subtlety. Apparently it had worked. _ Hmm, maybe hiding wasn’t the best course of action to take. Now this is just going to be awkward. _ But, I didn’t have the courage to step forward, out from behind Longe and Sy, so everyone could see me.

“Well, they were right here…” Longe turned his long neck around in confusion for a moment. I nervously ducked behind Sy so I was just out of Longe’s line of sight. I hadn’t meant to hide, it just happened when I was super overwhelmed, but wasn’t willing to admit it.

“Yeah, I coulda sworn they were right here with us,” Sy took a step to the side so I could no longer use him as cover. Longe spotted me immediately, along with everyone else in the room.

“There you are!” Longe reached out with one of his willowy arms and placed it over my shoulders to nudge me forwards. I stiffened at the contact, but didn’t resist the motion. I stepped forward into the room so everyone could see me clearly.

Frisk stepped away from the king and came to my side, maybe to offer an introduction.

All eyes were on me. My mind was racing with barely subdued panic under their gaze, but it was a familiar feeling. _ Stagefright _, I recognized. It didn’t matter if it was in front of a room full of people or a room full of monsters; it felt the same, much to my surprise.

_ Feign confidence, _ I was reminded through the storm of thoughts. _ Let them see what you want them to. You have the power, so take control. You’ve already pulled it off once today. _Right. I knew the tricks. I could do this. 

I took a deep breath to settle my racing heart, and straightened my posture once again. Yeah. This feeling was familiar. It wasn’t quite courage, but it was strength. I steadied my gaze so it didn’t flicker around with fear, and put on a small smile. _ I can do this. _

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to add a special thanks to my beta reader ShadowStorm for reviewing this work beforehand! It's even better because of their efforts!


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